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Republicans are searching for a new catchphrase to define this year’s offshore drilling debate after concluding the memorable “drill, baby, drill” line of the last presidential campaign has lost potency.
Reuters

Republicans are searching for a new catchphrase to define this year’s offshore drilling debate after concluding the memorable “drill, baby, drill” line of the last presidential campaign has lost potency — or even worse, become a political liability.

Time is of the essence. Already, some Republicans are fretting that they haven’t upgraded the message in time for the fast-approaching energy debate.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican who has been at the forefront of environmental issues, called the catchphrase “fun and catchy, but devoid of reality.”

And at the recent House GOP congressional retreat, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty begged his fellow Republicans to sharpen their energy message to help win back voters.

“‘Drill, baby, drill’ is a great slogan, but it’s not enough,” he said. “We need to identify with emerging issues and get ahead of them.”

All eyes are now turning to new Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who coined the phrase, and some lawmakers hope he might crank out another infectious slogan.

Steele’s “drill, baby, drill” went viral after he bellowed it onstage at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., last September when gas prices spiraled above $4 a gallon. Soon after, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin began using it so much that many thought she had actually coined the phrase.

“So do you want to put your country first?” Steele asked in his convention speech. “Then let’s reduce our dependency on foreign sources of oil and promote oil and gas production at home.

“In other words: Drill, baby, drill! And drill now!” said Steele, who used to sport a red lapel pin bearing the slogan.

But even Palin hasn’t been using the phrase in recent months, according to Politico’s research, although an aide to the Alaska governor wouldn’t say whether she had permanently dropped the catchphrase.

In the meantime, some House Republicans aren’t waiting around for a Steele brainstorm.

A handful of lawmakers in both the House Natural Resources Committee and the Congressional Western Caucus, which deals with natural resource development, are currently mulling over potential replacements for the phrase, according to Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn, the ranking Republican on the House Natural Resources energy subcommittee.

One potential option includes putting new emphasis on an oldie but a goodie: “all of the above.” House Republicans have been using the phrase for years, well before $4-a-gallon gas was a reality.

“A more accurate depiction of the Republican message is ‘all of the above,’ rather than ‘drill, baby, drill,’” Lamborn told Politico. “It shows Republicans are sympathetic to the need for alternatives and renewables to be developed further but absolutely must not neglect conventional energy resources.

Readers' Comments (67)

We can wait on this one. What we need is more refinery capacity. We have not built one since the 70s. 1973 comes to mind, but that may be off a little. We grant the oil companies huge tax breaks to upgrade refinery capacity but they never do. I agree we need to end our foreign oil purchases, but we also need to process it.

Last year in testimony on executive compensation the CEOs of the oil companies refused to answer and smurked when they were asked what their salaries were. Last year the oil companies made PROFITS OF OVER TRILLION dollars, not on improved productivity or better product or anything else except the gamed futures commodities market.

GOLDMAN-SACHS made 2 BILLION just trading paper in the futures commodities market in the first 6 months of last year while predicting oil prices would be at 200/ppb by November.

TODAY, CitiGroup, Merrill Lynch are using our taxdollars to take supertankers out of mothballs to buy and store oil offshore in the gulf of Mexico to the tune of 75K/day to sell back and make stunning profits.

Doing what is right for this country was trumped by making more and more and more money and NOT investing in the ability refine which runs on a razor thin edge and plants that are aged.

Greed and the worship of corportism, globalization killed this nation and the ability of work-a-day schmucks to earn a living, provide for their families and save money for their future.

The tax breaks are not in the IRS code. Just google tax breaks for oil companies and you will see how multiple and complicated they get. Most people should remember the CEOs of these companies testifing before congress last summer about their profits and tax breaks. And the last refinery was built in 1976.

My opinion is we could have researched a lot of other energy sources with the money wasted.

It seems rather simple to me...we must expand domestic exploration of oil and reduce the importation of oil from those who do not like us very much. This is in our collective interest and national security. The correct blend (pun intended) of governmental carrots and sticks is the the question.

While doing this we must continue to to expand wind, solar, nuclear, etc....enough of this NIMBY and "IMG what about the the snail darter" crap.

Baryy lied about nuclear whle on the trail...we will never see him in a dorky hard hat with big scissors cutting the ribbon on a new nuclear power plant....

It will be really difficult for them to make this case on any kind of a fundimentaly sound business sense. When the cost of getting the stuff out of the ground costs much more than the current price of oil this cause will have difficulty getting any more traction. Since the price of OIL is so low the the cost of production for many producers makes no sense. It is no longer profitable to mine the Canadian oil sands below $60, and many domestic sources are also not profitable below/around this price level. I do not dbout that this will turn around and the price of oil will increase, but in the interum why not put effort into alternative projects? Theoretically that drives down demand for oil going forward thru reduced demand. Not to mention it would help to kneecap the economy of the middle east and potentially change that dynamic. There will be a need for oil long into the future and since the stuff is contained in the ground why not just keep it there untill we really need it? But I get from the article that the issue is not reality based or strategically based it is continued cronyism and more political grandstanding. I find it funny that they think all they need is a good slogan and not good policy.

The tax breaks being referred to are allowing accelerated expensing through depreciation the cost of new refinery equipment. Gasoline right now is not that expensive ($1.80 – 1.90 / gallon). I agree that no new refineries have been built since the1970s, but the current refinery capacity is capable of producing enough gasoline to keep it affordable. Part of that is caused by updating equipment in existing refineries. These companies are only given tax breaks through accelerated depreciation if they invest their money in new equipment. If they do not invest their money, they get no tax break.

I find it funny that they think all they need is a good slogan and not good policy. Reminds me of "hope...change...yes, we can."

No one is opposed to putting effort into alternative fuels. However make no mistake about the fact that without oil, natural gas and coal, millions of people around the world would starve, freeze and the entire world WOULD BE in a depression.all

Baryy lied about nuclear whle on the trail...we will never see him in a dorky hard hat with big scissors cutting the ribbon on a new nuclear power plant....

Of course you won't see him cutting the ribbon to a new nuclear power plant considering it takes 10-15 years just for approvals and designs and then another 10 years to build the thing.

I love how we are 3 weeks into a new presidency, with the worst combined problems a president has ever walked into and people expect every problem and issue to magically disappear...let's get real people...it took GW 8 years to bring this country down, it will probably take a little longer to pick it back up.

We can wait on this one. What we need is more refinery capacity. We have not built one since the 70s. 1973 comes to mind, but that may be off a little. We grant the oil companies huge tax breaks to upgrade refinery capacity but they never do. I agree we need to end our foreign oil purchases, but we also need to process it.

How about we build electric cars and get off of oil period. What is wrong with you guys is that you are stuck in the past and don't look forward enough. I'm surprised you aren't killing whales for blubber oil still.

What we need is a complete overhaul on the energy market. If one out every two American commuter had an electric vehicle used to get to work and back... guess what.... we would need only 1/2 of the oil we need today. That would mean our refinery capacity would be just fine.

The tax breaks are not in the IRS code. Just google tax breaks for oil companies and you will see how multiple and complicated they get. Most people should remember the CEOs of these companies testifing before congress last summer about their profits and tax breaks. And the last refinery was built in 1976.

No they would not be in the IRS bill. They are included in the 18 billion each year we give to the Oil companies as tax breaks in the energy appropriations bill. Now tell me why they need 18 billion per year when Exoon is posting 43 Billion in profits each quarter.

Clint, back off a little and read the last sentence in my post 7. I agree completely. I live in Germany and work for the US Army. The Euro rail system is great. Think of the rail system we could have built with the money wasted in Iraq/Afghan.

The Midwest's pipelines and refineries are in the process of a multibillion-dollar expansion. The dramatic increase in capacity comes in response to the Canadian oil boom in Northern Alberta, where the vast expanses of the Athabaskan oil sands have become a profitable source of crude after dramatic price increases and technological advances.